Phish - Big Boat (Clear Vinyl)

Following 2014's critically lauded Fuego, jam institution Phish continued to work with studio legend Bob Ezrin. Instead of the five-year gaps that preceded their last two studio LPs, Big Boat arrives a mere two years on from Fuego and rides a similar sonic wave with its focus on streamlined songwriting and concise lyrics.

A number of these songs were honed on-stage during tours in 2015 and early 2016, and the easy buoyancy of tracks like "Blaze On" and the funky horn-laden "No Men in No Man's Land" feel like they could have been in the group's canon for years. Fans hoping for more expansive material are treated to the closing opus, "Petrichor": initially a piece composed for guitar and orchestra, the 13-minute multipart track runs the gamut of what Phish have to offer and plays to all of their instrumental and compositional strengths.